Vampire Slash Slayer
by NJZ
Summary: The first rule of slaying, according to Buffy Summers herself, is “Don’t die.” Sorry Ms Summers, I guess I broke the rule. At least, sort of. What happens when you’re undead? Full summary inside
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

**Title:** Vampire/Slayer

**Type: **Fan fiction (Prose, 1st person narrative)

**Verse:** Whedon - Buffyverse

**Fiction Rating:** M/18 – for graphic violence, adult themes and strong language

**Time line:** Post-Season 7, set sometime during the canonical season 8 comics. Contains brief but minor references to said comics.

**Synopsis/Summary:** This story tells the tale of Eve, a potential-turned-Slayer currently residing in Scotland with Buffy and the rest of the gang. When she begins having strange dreams of Faith, and Faith alone, she realises that all is not right. Unable to tell the others how she's really feeling, Eve sets out on a journey to England where she runs into a past foe with a deadly revelation for her. One that changes everything, including her humanity.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

The first rule of slaying, according to Buffy Summers herself, is "Don't die"

Sorry Ms Summers, I guess I broke the rule. At least, sort of. What happens when you're undead?

About 2 years ago, I was one of them – a potential. At the time, I didn't know what I was or who I was. I didn't know what the future held for me. Then one day, things changed; I became a Slayer.

I remember being told of the Chain. All potentials and Slayers are supposedly connected through it. I felt it – the pull of the Chain – tugging at me, pulling me effortlessly into a higher state of being. I felt it calling me. Calling my name. Whispering into the sullen air, "Eve," until I could no longer resist the temptation of the unknown. Just as easily as it had called for me, the Chain took me away in silence as I surrendered to it's hold. To it's power.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

"Jesus, what the hell do you think you're doing Eve?" Damien called. Damien was my best friend. We grew up together and he was the one person in the world I could always rely on. He didn't want to be here right now. Not tonight. He said it was too risky but I didn't agree and I had dragged him along with me anyway.

"Relax" I called back. I was standing on top of a few wooden crates, stretching my arms as far as I could so I could grab the latch of the window slightly above me. Damien was further behind me, standing near the opening of the alleyway.

"Eve. Come on"

"Stop bitchin', just keep a look out, will ya?"

He sighed and obeyed. By the time he'd turned around, I'd already reached the latch.

"Got it" I said, a faint sense of achievement washing over me.

I knew it was dangerous. Reckless. But I did it anyway. I opened the window and climbed in. No alarm. Perfect. Damien soon followed.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" he said as he entered, "there better be some good stuff in here"

"There always is" I said, smiling gleefully as I walked towards the stacks of alcohol. "Damien, I'd like you to meet someone" I said, picking up a bottle of liquor and showing it to him. "Damien Frost, Jack Daniels. Jack, this is Damien"

Damien couldn't help laughing, "You're so silly sometimes, you know that?" he said.

"But you love me anyway." I smiled a coy smile.

"I must be crazy"

"That you are, my friend. That you are"

I left Damien for a moment and went to the next aisle. From here, I could see outside the front windows of the store. There was no-one around. A vast land of nothing but darkness. This was a good thing. It meant we could get away with it. I opened my jacket and took out a sack from the left inside pocket. It was a rather big sack – but then again – it always was. I might as well have painted a big fat dollar sign on it for all it mattered. No one would've noticed. Not tonight.

I shoved some items into the sack, not really looking at what they were. The price was all that mattered. James wouldn't even look twice at the stuff if it were under 2 dollars. He ran a store down on fifth. It had all sorts of stuff. From party hats to haute couture – James sold it all. Of course, none of it was actually worth anything stolen. But the customers didn't know that. James hid his extracurricular activities from the law well. He had recruited me when I was 15. He caught me shoplifting in his store. I thought I was heading to the local police department but instead he offered me a job. Off the books, of course.

And that's why I was here now, 3 years later. James paid extra for booze as long as it was good booze.

"You got the good stuff?" I asked. I wanted to make sure Damien wasn't drinking on the job again. The last time he did that, he almost got himself run over by a Jeep. You can't make any cash from a hospital.

"I got it" he replied, "we good to go?"

"We're good"

Damien went first, back towards the open window, and used the strength of his arms to pull himself up. I tossed him the two sacks, now full of goods, not using too much force so I wouldn't break the bottles of alcohol. He grabbed them and went through the open window to the other side. Once he was clear, I pulled myself up. It was much harder than Damien made it look. I may have done this hundreds of times before but it never got any easier. I had mental strength, not physical strength. I strained for a while but eventually got to the other side of the window. I closed the latch. We were both wearing gloves so we didn't have to worry about wiping off any fingerprints. I slowly climbed down the crates, watching my step, and reached the ground. When I turned around, I was expecting to see Damien waiting for me. Instead, I saw two figures. One was Damien, his back turned to me. The other was standing opposite Damien and I, facing us but I couldn't see his face clearly.

"We didn't do nothin'" I said without thinking. I moved closer towards Damien. When I got to him, I noticed he was frozen in terror and that he'd dropped the sacks, one on each of his sides. "Damien, what are you doing?" Damien's eyes were fixed upon the figure in front of him. Whoever it was, I wasn't scared. Damien always got scared. Momentarily, I glanced over at the figure's face.

And that's when it hit me. The person in front of us wasn't a person. He was different; a monster. His eyes were yellow and his pupils black. His teeth were long and definitely what I'd describe as "fang-y." I knew instinctively that the being that stood before Damien and I was a vampire. I'd never seen one before but I'd read of them. They weren't the stuff of fantasy, they were real. And right before me was the proof I needed. Now I was scared.

The vampire looked upon us, hunger in his eyes. He moved closer towards us. I froze in fear just like Damien had done seconds earlier. He grabbed Damien's neck with one hand, lifting him off his feet. Damien didn't say anything and neither did I. He then moved Damien closer towards him, opening his mouth wide. I knew what was going to happen. I'd seen enough vampire movies and read enough Anne Rice novels to know what was going to happen next.

"No" I shouted, grabbing the vampires arm and using what little strength I had to free Damien from his grip. It didn't phase him. He let go of Damien momentarily and focused his attentions on me.

"Your time will come soon, my sweet" he said. He pushed me and I went flying into the crates beneath the window. I felt the wood of the crates impale me and I screamed in pain. Damien was still frozen. I attempted to get up. I had to help him. I couldn't let this happen to him. Not to Damien. Not to my best friend.

But there was nothing I could do. I could see the vampire grab Damien again, pulling his neck in towards his teeth. And then he bit him. He drank from Damien, sucking every last drop out of him until nothing was left but his lifeless body. As I watched on helplessly, I felt as if my own heart had just stopped and died.

The vampire dropped Damien carelessly to the floor. He wiped the blood off his mouth with the sleeve of his outdated shirt and then turned around and walked away as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't just taken my life – my sole reason for existence – away.

I looked at Damien lying on the ground dead and for the first time in years, I cried.

I just cried.

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	2. Chapter 2

"Angelus" I asked, "what's so special about him?"

"Hah," Andrew laughed for a reason unbeknownst to me. I had a feeling a long lecture was about to follow. And I was right. "Angelus, Angelus, Angelus" he said.

He droned on, stopping occasionally to make unnecessary Star Wars references. What Angelus had to do with Anakin Skywalker was beyond me. I zoned out as I always did. I wondered to myself why I even bothered asking any questions in 'class'. Buffy had personally told me to be more assertive, more confident. Truth is, Buffy didn't know the real me. No-one did. Part of me died when Damien did.

I still don't know how I survived that night. At some point during my crying, I passed out from all the pain. Someone must've found me I guess because I woke up the next day in the hospital.

That day was a nightmare. The police stopped by dozens of times to take my statement. They asked me what had happened. Each and every time I replied with a simple "I don't know" or an "I don't remember." Eventually they got the hint and stopped bugging me. Of course I had lied. I did know what had happened and I did remember everything in more detail than I had wanted to. It was killing me not being able to tell anyone but I knew what would happen if I did. They wouldn't believe me, no-one would. I was lucky to escape without criminal charges. Apparently, someone had seen the vampire walking out of the alley with blood on his clothes. The police naturally assumed he'd murdered Damien but, to my surprise, they blamed him for the theft aswell. I didn't quite know how they had come to that conclusion. If he was the thief, why would he have left the goods in the alley? But the answer didn't matter to me. All I knew was that I wouldn't be spending any time in jail. But all the while, I couldn't shake the feeling – that feeling of being sick to my stomach. I may not have gotten caught but Damien had paid the price for my recklessness. I never did see James after that night again either.

"I gotta go" I said out of the blue, cutting off Andrew mid-sentence.

"Bu...But you can't" Andrew said

"I can and I will" I said, getting up. This was the old me coming through again. The me I had buried with Damien. Andrew protested again but I took no notice. I left the room without a word.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

After I'd left Andrew and the other Slayers, I went straight to my room. It was a long walk. The castle Buffy and the gang had acquired was huge and it took me several minutes to get where I needed to be. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. Not long after, I fell asleep.

"That's mine" the brunette said. She was holding a length of pipe in her hands, standing on the terrace of an apartment.

"You're about to get it back" replied the blonde, holding a jackal knife. I recognised her voice and her face almost immediately. It was Buffy Summers. That meant the other girl had to be Faith. Willow had filled me in on the two. Years ago, they were the only two Slayers in existence and naturally they came to blows on more than one occasion. This particular one I was dreaming of was one of the most deadly fights I'd ever heard of.

"Man I'm going to miss this" Faith continued. The Slayers were now at the edge of the terrace and Faith's hand gripped Buffy's. In a matter of seconds, Buffy broke the grip and plunged the knife straight into Faith's abdomen.

Then things got hazy. I couldn't quite remember what was happening or where I was but I could feel the pain of the wood from the crates. I heard the words "you killed me" echo in my head, swirling around in my mind relentlessly. Echoing mercilessly until I woke up in a cold sweat.

"Eve! What's going on?" shouted Amber. She was sitting on my bed with each of her arms grabbing onto my shoulders, shaking me.

"What?" I said as I came to. I sat up on the bed and Amber released her grip.

"You were shouting in your sleep, are you okay?" she asked, noticeably calmer.

"I was?" I asked, still feeling dazed.

"Yeah, what's your damage, Slayer?" asked Grace. I hadn't noticed a crowd had formed in the doorway, Grace was at the very front. Contrary to her name, she was not graceful. In fact, she was a grade A bitch. She had it down to a fine art.

"Leave us alone" Amber said, turning her head, her words aimed at everyone in the doorway. When a few seconds passed and the crowd only seemed to get bigger, Amber stood up and slammed the door shut.

Though the door had been promptly been slammed in her face, Grace couldn't resist making one last snide comment.

"Gee, I guess they need some _alone_ time" she said, which both Amber and I heard loud and clear, implying something other than the platonic relationship we had.

"Ignore her" Amber said, sitting herself back down on the bed.

"Always do" I replied

"So," she said, a grave expression on her face. I knew what she was going to say; she was going to ask me what was going on. I wasn't sure whether I should tell her the truth or not. We both arrived at "Castle Slayer" as we liked to call it at around the same time and we had immediately hit it off. I'd told her about Damien. She was the only person in the world – other than me – who knew. "What's going on?"

"Uh," I sighed. Part of me just didn't have the strength to lie, "Faith. I had another dream about her"

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. She was fighting with Buffy, on the terrace of some apartment"

"Right. How many times is that now?"

"Five times this month alone"

"Maybe you should talk to someone about this, someone more qualified on all things Slayer than I am"

"You are a Slayer, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I don't know much about this connection thing we all have"

"Andrew said we'd all dream about past Slayers. It's not a big deal"

"It is a big deal. You're not just dreaming about past Slayers, you're dreaming about one. The last one to be called before all potentials became Slayers"

"I know the story"

"Then you should know this is not normal"

"Don't you ever dream of Faith?"

"Faith, yeah. But I also happen to dream of other Slayers too. Not just one. You – you've been dreaming of her alone. All the dreams you've told me of, they're about her and all in chronological order. You need to talk to someone about this."

"You mean someone like Buffy? She doesn't even talk about Faith at all. And when she does, she hardly ever mentions her by name"

"Willow?"

"She's out of town, remember?"

"I guess that leaves Xander and Andrew"

"Spilling to them sounds like so much fun" I said, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"Then I guess you've only got one option"

"What's that?"

"Find Faith"

"Right, coz I'm sure she's waiting around for me somewhere hoping I'll make good on the slumber party I promised. Hey, and maybe later we could paint each other's nails and braid hair whilst we gush over Ashton Kutcher in the latest Sixteen magazine"

"Seventeen. It's Seventeen magazine. And Kutcher's so 5 years ago. But it's nice to see your humour's still intact" she paused, "look, Andrew's going to Italy in the morning. He's taking a few of the girls with him. You and I could go with, y'know, if you need to get out of this castle. Grace will be there too but we'll deal with Ms I'm-the-one-and-only-queen-of-all-bitches later"

"I can't. I need to go to England" I said, suddenly changing my mind.

"What's in England?"

"Faith"

"But she's not much with the braiding hair and nail-painting. Besides, how do you know she's in England?"

"I heard it from around"

"That's just a rumour. You can't know for sure that she's in England"

"Then I guess I'll have to find out"

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	3. Chapter 3

I arrived at Heathrow airport in London, England, 15 hours or so after Amber and I had talked in my room. Since I was leaving, Amber decided to go with Andrew and the girls to Italy. She'd told me to keep her posted on the search for Faith. Truth be told, I didn't even know where to begin searching. London, being the capital, seemed like a good idea. I hadn't told Buffy or anyone in charge why I was leaving. I'd just told them that I needed to take a leave of absence for a while and since I wasn't exactly obligated to the Slayer corporation by a contract, they had no choice but to let me go.

It was late London-time when I arrived so I decided to check into the cheapest hotel I could find. I stayed in the Jury's Inn for the night. I woke up late the next morning. I guessed that the flight – though short – had tired me out more than I had thought it did. That and the fact that I had a dreamless night was probably the reason that I was out for so long.

When I finally got myself out of bed and dressed, I decided to come up with a game plan. Obviously roaming the streets of London looking for a Slayer wouldn't get me far. Faith could be anywhere. I wasn't even sure she was in England. She could be somewhere in Australia for all I knew. But I had to find her. She was the only person that would know what was going on with me. At least I was hoping so. I tried to figure out what I'd do after I'd actually found her. Something told me she wouldn't be willing to talk openly with a stranger. I was starting to think that waiting for Willow to return to the castle may have been a better idea. But now it was too late. Going back to the castle would result in a wasted journey. I might as well do what I came here for.

Not one for procrastination, I immediately grabbed a pen and a notepad and began writing. I had remembered to bring my laptop from the castle, so I took it out of my still unpacked bags and connected wirelessly to the internet. I found a map of London online and marked a several mile radius on it. I figured that it'd be best to start small and expand over time. Though, of course, I wasn't sure how much time exactly I'd be spending in London, or England, for that matter. I knew I couldn't spend too much time here. Buffy had let me go without a word but I didn't want to get on her bad side. I didn't know what it was Buffy did to those on her bad side but – considering the dreams I'd had of her and Faith – I sure as hell did not want to find out.

I spent the rest of the day doing more or less the same thing – planning – occasionally stopping to order room service. I'd never been to England before so part of me just wanted to explore the area but the other part was determined to find Faith and thought there'd be time for fun later.

The day had passed rather quickly I thought and it was now night-time. I would now make my move. See, I couldn't just ask around for a "Slayer" during the day without someone wanting to ship me off to the nearest mental institute but I could ask the creatures of the night. I knew they'd be more responsive than passers-by. And there was also a high chance they'd know the whereabouts of any Slayers in the city. At least, I was hoping so.

It was 9pm and dark out. I stumbled out of the hotel lobby, bag full of stakes and other useful objects, and began roaming around, looking for a badly lit area. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any. I continued walking further, moving as far away as I could from the vehicular traffic. Even though I was now pretty far away from the airport, I could still hear the roar of the aeroplanes above me, coming and going every few minutes. Any more of this and I might have to invest in some earplugs.

I found myself come towards a park. There was lighting everywhere but I knew there had to be a dark corner somewhere. I entered the park – it didn't seem like it was a public one – and headed towards any areas of less lighting. Fortunately, I soon found the dark corner I was looking for. Unfortunately, I could still hear the planes from here. That didn't bode well for me. If there were any vampires around, I needed to rely on my senses to defeat them. I'd been taught that slaying wasn't just about being able to see the enemy. Simply seeing was never enough. You had to be able to predict their moves, hear their movement. Not being able to hear them was bad. Very bad.

"Hey there" I said to a bunch of vampires standing in front of me, their backs turned. They immediately turned around. There were only 3 of them. They were scrawny-looking so I figured I could take them. That was mistake number one.

Mistake number two, you ask? That one was about to hit me right between the eyes. Literally.

I went flying across the park, crashing straight into the trunk of a nearby tree. I involuntarily slid down and fell against the damp grass. Great, it just had to be muddy, didn't it? My trousers were covered in mud now but I couldn't really see my legs properly. That blow to the face had really dazed me. My vision was blurry. Another plane passed by overhead. Two of my senses were down.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"Hello" said one of the vampires as he walked towards me. I couldn't really make out his face, just the general outline of his body. He was definitely not scrawny. I looked around. There were 3 vampires standing to the sides of him. Maybe I had miscalculated earlier. Maybe I hadn't seen this guy before. I couldn't really see him too well now either. He noticed my confusion, "looking for something?" he asked.

Don't say anything. Don't say anything. Don't say anything.

"Yeah, actually, I am", I replied.

"What?"

"A Slayer"

"Which one?"

"She goes by the name of Faith"

"Ah" he said knowingly, his voice was eerily familiar, "Faith"

"You know her?"

"I know of her. The last to be called. What is your business with her?"

"It's personal"

"There are no secrets between us, my sweet" he said as he leaned in closer towards me. I had gained some of my vision back and it was now easier to see him. As his face moved closer to mine, I felt pangs of dread wash over me. It wasn't until he leaned back again and was standing in front of me that I recognised who he was.

I wished and hoped beyond any reasonable hope that I was just seeing things. That the vampire before me wasn't who I thought it was. That it was Angel. Perhaps even Spike. Or any vampire with a soul for that matter. Any vampire that wouldn't want to kill me right now.

But it wasn't either of them. It was him. It was the vampire that had killed Damien. And he was going to kill me too.

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	4. Chapter 4

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

I wanted to be back at the castle now. This wasn't real. It was just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream. I'm back in the castle, in my room, dreaming this. Yes, I'm dreaming this. I didn't really go to England. I decided to stay in the castle and just wait for Willow. That was the sensible plan and so I did the sensible thing.

He grabbed hold of me from the neck and lifted me up. Okay, definitely not a dream. I tried to free myself from his grip but it was no use. Crashing into the tree had done more harm than I thought it had.

"My name is Vicus" he said. He obviously hadn't realised he was choking me. If he did, he wouldn't have been expecting some sort of reply from me. He soon noticed, however, and let me go, leaving me to crash back onto the floor. Great, now I was covered in even more mud.

I struggled to get up but I eventually got myself standing, using the trunk of the tree to keep my balance.

"What do you want from me?" I asked

"Now that is an interesting question" he said, "I want a lot of things from you. Your blood for one." That was so not the answer I was looking for, "a Slayer's blood always tastes so sweet. Yours will be divine"

"How about we don't do that, huh?" I chuckled nervously. I could've taken Vicus' lackeys but there was no way I could go up against him and survive. He was too big. Too strong. The last time I had faced him, he had tossed me aside like I was nothing. But back then, I was nothing. I was a Slayer now and that meant I had at least a small chance of winning.

"My how you've grown, little Evie" he said affectionately, as if he was my father. Only those closest to me had ever called me Evie.

Wait – just how exactly did he know my name? I must've missed something amongst all the confusion. The last time I had seen him, it was the night Damien and I had robbed the store. I'd always thought that it was a random attack. That this vampire had just come across us and had decided to feed. Then I remembered what he had said, 'your time will come soon, my sweet'. The words had been permanently emblazoned in my mind, tearing at the edges of it each and every time I thought of Damien and that night.

He couldn't have known my name. There was no way he could have. But if that were true, why was he standing before me, calling me 'Evie' as if he'd known me all these years?

Something wasn't right. Running into Vicus tonight was no coincidence and I was betting that running into him years ago wasn't one either.

"Leave us" he said to the other vampires, "I'd like to be alone with her." The others quickly left. It was just me and Vicus alone in the park now. This could potentially be a good thing. It meant I could focus on dusting just one vampire as opposed to four. How I was going to dust this one, however, was beyond me.

But I was a Slayer. And he was a vampire. Slayers were meant to slay vampires. I had to repeat this over and over again to myself just so I wouldn't die of fear alone.

Slayer. Vampire. Slayer. Vampire. Slayer. Vampire.

My bag full of tricks, however, was rather far away from me. And standing between me and the oh so lovely pointy stakes was Vicus.

He moved closer towards me. By now I could stand on my feet without needing the trunk of the tree. I moved backwards. If I could get out of this in a way which wouldn't result in my death – that'd be just great – I was gonna do everything I could to make sure that happened.

"Do you fear me?" he asked

Yes.

"No" I replied. He could sense the falsity in my inflection.

He punched me and I fell to the ground.

"Your time has come" he said, grabbing and lifting me with both his arms grabbing each of my wrists. I struggled to free myself from his iron-clad grip. I dug my nails as hard as I could into his arms. I broke through the flesh of his cold, dead skin. It didn't phase him. I dug deeper and he groaned in pain. He let go of me as it became too much to bear and I fell down into the mud again. He took a step back and then attempted to regain his hold on me.

This time I was too quick for him. I ducked out of the way and punched him hard in the abdomen, almost breaking my hand in the process. He bent over in pain. As he did so, I ran over to my bag and opened it as quick as I could. I had just about put my hand on a stake when I felt a force grab me from my hair and jerk me backwards quickly.

Again, I hit the tree. But this time I didn't fall onto the ground. I quickly moved into position, stake in my right hand, as he came towards me once again. When he was close enough, I moved my right hand towards his heart, hoping to stake him. He saw my move coming a mile off. He grabbed my wrist so tightly that I involuntarily dropped the stake to the ground.

"Eve, why are you fighting this?" he asked as if he didn't already know the answer.

"I don't wanna die" I said, trying harder than ever to free myself from his unbreakable grip. I tried to use my left arm to free my wrist but he simply spun me around until I was caught in front of him, my back turned. He pulled me in close towards him until I could feel his chest against my back. Another plane roared by overhead.

Fuck.

I was a dead Slayer in the making.

"Don't worry" he said consolingly, sinking his teeth into my neck,"you'll be born again." I let out a squeal of pain as he sunk his teeth further into my flesh. "Hush, my sweet. Hush."

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End file.
